Feminists for a Day

I was able to attend the Republican National Convention the evening Palin spoke. It is old news by now that her speech was a masterful performance. What tickled me were the speeches before Palin's, which may or may not have been covered by news outlets. I had no idea that Republican operatives were such feminists. Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman, and Rudy Giuliani talked about sexism. They were appalled that Palin was being criticized and pointed to a double standard that male politicians could be fathers aspiring for high office without being criticized for being bad parents. Move over Gloria Steinem, Meg, Rudy, and Carly have your back. It is fascinating that feminism is now back in the public discourse because of Republican rhetoric! But it really is a return to social feminism. Yes, they advocated that women have the right to participate in the public square but also embraced traditional gender relations. It is a backward vision. Palin did not present herself as anything but a Mom, a tough hockey Mom, but a Mom nontheless.

McCain's Advisors

I attended a conference at the Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota, "America's Future:Conversations about Politics and Policy" during the RNC last week. Many of the presenters during the four-day conference are current advisors to John McCain. I know there has been a great deal of speculation about McCain's approach to foreign policy. Will he make a rightward shift in the same way he has on domestic policy? Or, will his foreign policy be less ideologically driven and more realistic? If the sessions I attended on the future of foreign policy are any indication, McCain's approach will be the latter. I learned last week that many of McCain's top foreign policy advisors held posts in the George H.W. Bush administration and tend toward realism. Even Obama has praised the first Bush's foreign policy. Indeed, compared to the aggressiveness of the current administration, McCain's policy advisors seem downright left-wing. Most were reluctant to impose a Western worldview on the world and criticized current policies. The only McCain advisor with ties to the current administration, Rob Portman, U.S. Trade Representative, is a staunch free trader but very moderate. If there was any running theme of the sessions it was a blind faith in the power of free markets. They are Republicans, after all. Still, the comments were measured, thoughtful, and backed up with research and experience. If McCain is elected president, I don't think we have as much to fear on the foreign policy front. Domestic policy is another matter.

It was very clear to me after listening to luminaries such as Joseph Liberman, R. James Woolsey, Rob Portman, and Henry Kissinger that foreign policy will no longer be part of a political calculation but instead will return to careerists in the State Department. And I predict that Joe Liberman will be Secretary of State in a McCain administration.

If Rob Portman, Joe Liberman, Henry Kissinger and others are active surrogates for McCain during the next couple of months, Obama will have some explaining to do about his foreign policy goals and will be hard-pressed to make clear distinctions between his approach and McCain's.

Protests and the RNC

I was very involved in several events related to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul and even managed to attend the convention on Wednesday and Thursday night. I was the guest of the Republican National Committee! So, there is a lot to report. I'll try to post a part of the story each day this week.

First, I want to weigh in on the protests during the convention. The arrests of so-called anarchists has been reported. Unfortunately, the actions of a few people intent on destroying property (I saw broken windows at one of the downtown department stores and a sheriff's vehicle had a broken window) and their subsequent arrests has dominated the media coverage. What a shame. The protest against the war in Iraq on September 1 was not covered. An "Iraq Veterans Against the War" group marched along with families of veterans. Several people held photographs of loved ones who were killed or wounded during the war. With the exception of Cindy Sheehen, who was also in St. Paul at a Ralph Nadar rally, the families of soldiers and veterans actively protesting against the war have largely been ignored. I can tell you that their presence in the march was something to see, and it is terribly unfortunate that more attention hasn't been paid to soldiers who are actively against the war. The protest marchers were incredibly diverse, old and young and people of all races. A group a women wearing burkas participated. Some people brought their kids. I wish more attention was paid to this in the national media.

There were reports that members of the Connecticut delegation were harassed by protesters. Frankly, I don't see how that was possible. There were barricades everywhere so that anyone without credentials couldn't get close to any entrance. Since I had a pass on Wednesday and Thursday, I was able to move around and get a clear sense of where people without credentials could and could not go. A protest space closest to the convention center was reserved for people engaging in a counter protest with signs saying "Support our Troops." There was definitely a double standard when it came to issuing permits. The protest route was quite circumscribed to the point that we seemed to be marching in a circle.

From what I saw, I believe the so-called violence during the convention was exaggerated. I know there were a couple of incidents in Minneapolis that I did not witness, but people need to know that the protests on Monday and Thursday nights near the convention site in St. Paul were very well organized. Volunteers from the ACLU and Lawyers Guild were present to insure that people were treated fairly.

All I can say is that you should have seen the riot gear the police and members of the National Guard had on. They were loaded for anarchists. I was standing near a group of police officers at one point and looked over to see that each person had a gun, a taser, a pellet gun, a tear gas gun, pepper spray, a night stick, and plastic handcuffs. With all of the protective gear they had on as well, I was surprised they could move.

I witnessed an officer using pepper spray, and, in my opinion, his use of anything was unnecessary. Yes, a few people dressed ominously in black with their faces covered tipped over newspaper stands and threw debris in the street, but I don't think that form of acting out warranted arrests or defensive action.